The sole purpose of the Book of Devarim, writes R' Yechezkel Sarne
z"l (1890-1969; rosh yeshiva of the Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim), is
to drive home the very same lesson that opens the first chapter of the
work Mesilat Yesharim, by R' Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal; 18th century).
That lesson is: "The foundation of piety and the root of perfect [Divine]
service is for a person's duty in this world to become clear to him and
free of doubt."

Ramchal explains further that man was created in order that he may enjoy
the ultimate pleasure, i.e., the pleasure that comes from being close to G-
d. All material pleasures were created either to distract man from his
task or to be used as tools to further man's spiritual development.

R' Sarne continues: Contrary to his usual style, Ramchal does not
cite any verses or Talmudic statements to support the assertion quoted
above. Why? Because the Torah is so full of proofs that it is not
necessary to single them out. In particular, he writes, this is the
message of Sefer Devarim. Throughout the final Book of the Torah, we are
reminded to seek G-d out, not to forget Him, etc. We also read (Devarim
29:3), "But Hashem did not give you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or
ears to hear until this day."

The reference to "a heart to know" is reminiscent of the verse (Devarim
4:39), "You shall know this day and take to your heart that Hashem, He is
the G-d--in heaven above and on the earth below--there is none other."
Taking these two verses together, writes R' Sarne, confirms Ramchal's
assertion that true understanding of one's duty--to remain aware of G-d
and to cling to Him--does not come easily; rather, one must toil, perhaps
even his whole lifetime, until he really reaches the level where he even
remembers on a consistent basis why he was placed in this world. (Iyunim
Al Mesilat Yesharim)

From the Parashah . . .

"These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael."
(Devarim 1:1)

Midrash Rabbah comments: Before Moshe received the Torah, it says
about him (Shmot 4:10), "I am not a man of words." Once he received the
Torah, his tongue was healed, and he said, "These are the words . . ."

He explains: Why did Moshe originally refuse to lead Bnei Yisrael?
Because, being extremely humble, he did not think he would ever be capable
of rebuking them if they sinned. "I am not a man of words" meant "I will
not be able to speak up."

Receiving the Torah solved that dilemma. The halachah states that a
student must rebuke even his teacher if the latter sins. How can one
respectfully rebuke his teacher? He can say, "Didn't our master teach us
that such and such behavior is not appropriate?" In other words, the
Torah itself is a tool that one can use to give polite rebuke.

Moshe, too, found his voice once the Torah was given. No longer
would it be necessary for Moshe, the man, to give rebuke. Instead, the
Torah, albeit speaking in Moshe's voice, would give any necessary rebuke.
(Shevivei Eish)

"Yehoshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall come
there; strengthen him, for he shall cause Yisrael to inherit it:"
(Devarim 1:38)

R' Aharon Lewin z"l Hy"d (rabbi of Rzeszow, Poland; killed in the
Holocaust) writes: Why did Moshe himself not enter Eretz Yisrael? Some
early commentaries (Sefer Ha'ikkarim and Akeidat Yitzachak) explain that
Moshe showed weakness on the occasion when Bnei Yisrael thirsted for
water, which made him unfit to lead. Specifically, he should not have
cried to G-d for help at that time. Rather, he should have known that any
decree that he would make would be upheld by G-d. If Moshe had merely
ordered the surrounding rocks to give water, they would have done so.

In contrast, Yehoshua would demonstrate the trait that Moshe lacked.
Specifically, when nightfall threatened to deprive Bnei Yisrael of victory
in one of their battles with the Canaanites, Yehoshua decreed that the sun
and moon should stand still (Yehoshua, ch.10). And they did.

Commenting on a verse in Beha'alotecha, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 17a)
says that two men prophesied that Moshe would die and Yehoshua would
become the leader. This prophecy occurred on the occasion of the
appointment of a sanhedrin after the masses of Bnei Yisrael complained
about the quality of the food that Hashem was providing. On that
occasion, Moshe actually had complained to Hashem that he (Moshe) was
unable to feed the People. This, writes R' Lewin, explains why the two
men prophesied at exactly that time--it was the first time that Moshe
demonstrated the weakness that ultimately led G-d to replace him as the
leader. (Ha'drash Ve'ha'iyun)

From the Haftarah . . .

"The vision of Yeshayah son of Amotz, which he saw
concerning Yehuda and Yerushalayim, in the days of Uzziah, Yotam, Achaz
and Chizkiyah, kings of Yehuda." (Yeshayah 1:1)

The Gemara (Bava Batra 14b) describes the Book of Yeshayah as
consisting entirely of consolation for the destruction of the Bet
Hamikdash and the exile. Yet, our haftarah, the first chapter of that
book, is full of rebuke and foreboding! Does this not contradict the
Gemara?

R' Moshe David Valle z"l (1697-1777; Italian kabbalist) explains:

The name of the prophet Yeshayah is related to the word "yeshuah"
which connotes redemption. This similarity indicates that the soul of
this prophet came from the "side" of chessed. [In other words, his soul
was predisposed to chessed.] Accordingly, his prophecies are full of
hope.

True, Yeshayah opened his book with a seemingly negative prophecy.
Even his rebuke, however, had its source in chessed. To what may this be
compared? To a mother who punishes her child and then embraces him in a
tight hug. When we see that, we understand that the punishment originated
from the same love from which the hug later came. (Teshuat Olamim)

"An ox knows his owner, and a donkey his master's trough;
Yisrael does not know, My people does not perceive." (Yeshayah 1:3)

R' Shmuel Laniado z"l (Ba'al Ha'keilim; rabbi of Aleppo, Syria; died
1605) writes in the name of his son, R' Avraham: The prophet Yeshayah is
offering the nation the following rebuke: When two people claim ownership
of a certain ox, each can call the ox to himself and we can see to which
one it comes. If they fight over a donkey, each can put food in the
trough in his barn, and we can see from which the donkey eats. The
donkey, it seems, will naturally eat from his master's food rather than
eat food that is not his.

The Jewish People of his generation, Yeshayah complains, were not
even as honest as that donkey. Nor were they as understanding as the ox,
who knows to leave his fraudulent master and follow his true master. If
an ox behaves thus, then certainly you, Yisrael, who possess wisdom from
Above, should distance yourselves from theft and follow your Master. (Kli
Paz)

Diaries

This week, we present another excerpt from Eleh Masei,
subtitled "A Journal of the Journey of the Rabbis, Members of the
Committee to Raise the Crown of Judaism in Our Holy Land, Who Toured All
the Settlements of Shomron [Samaria] and Galil [Galilee] in the Winter of
5674 [1914]."

We continue with the description of the rabbis' visit to the
settlement of Merchaviah, which we began last week:

The manager, Mr. Dick, thanked the rabbis on behalf of the farm for
their visit and for the eulogy they delivered for the deceased [i.e., two
settlers from nearby villages who had been murdered by Arabs].

One of the assembled, not a worker from the settlement, stood up and
rebuked the rabbi of Yaffo [R' Kook] regarding the shemittah / sabbatical
year. In this man's view, [R' Kook] was too stringent. [Ed. note:
Ironically, R' Kook's halachic decisions regarding the laws of shemittah
were considered too lenient by many of his contemporaries. Stay tuned for
coverage of shemittah- related issues in these pages during the coming
year - 5768 - which is a sabbatical year.] This man continued by heaping
scorn on mitzvot in general and on the efforts of the rabbis [to promote
Torah-observant agriculture], which he likened to radical socialism. Mr.
Dick intervened, saying that he will not permit rudeness, and anyone who
wants to speak should first receive permission. . . .

The speeches by the rabbis made a strong impression on the hearts of
the listeners, and some of them cried.

One worker, Mr. Friedman, spoke out against the previous speaker who
spoke rudely to the rabbis, and he thanks the rabbis on behalf of his
friends for the honor that the rabbis showed to the young workers. . . .

After the meal, three workers arrive from the neighboring settlement.
They say that they are willing to fulfill the rabbis' requests, but they
ask the rabbis to arrange for them a shochet, a teacher, a mikvah, and a
shul. The rabbis promise to work on this. [26 Marcheshvan] Mr. Dick gave
us his written agreement to our requests.

After breakfast, the rabbi of Yaffo arranged for the cooking staff
the details of kashering the kitchen. They promised to do this at the
earliest opportunity.

In the tenth hour, we traveled from the settlement in two simple
wagons. This was by agreement of all the rabbis, since we could not find a
good wagon among our brethren, and we chose to ride on simple wagons owned
by Jews rather than a nicer wagon owned by a foreigner.

The editors hope these brief 'snippets' will engender further study
and discussion of Torah topics ('lehagdil Torah u'leha'adirah'), and
your letters are appreciated. Web archives at Torah.org start with 5758 (1997) and
may be retrieved from the Hamaayan page.

Hamaayan needs your support! Please consider sponsoring Hamaayan in honor of a happy occasion or in memory of a loved one. Did you know that the low cost of sponsorship - only $18 - has not changed in seventeen years? Donations to HaMaayan are tax-deductible.